All Rise...

Editor's Note

The Charge

It was the worst job they ever imagined…and the best time of their
lives.

Opening Statement

Working a crappy job over the summer is something every kid should go
through. Aside from giving kids a little extra dough come school time, these
crappy jobs build character. Heck, just look at Greg Motolla: he was a carny one
summer, and now he makes movies!

Facts of the Case

James Brennan (Jesse Eisenberg, The
Squid and the Whale) has just graduated from college and is preparing for a
summer backpacking trip across Europe and then graduate school in the fall. When
his plans fall apart and his parents are unable to support him financially,
James has to seek out summer employment. He quickly learns that he's
simultaneously over and under qualified for every job, and is forced to work
with his childhood friend, Frigo (Matt Bush), at Adventureland.

While working various carnival games, James falls in with a group of kids
stuck in the rut of a suburban summer. There's Joel (Martin Starr, Freaks and Geeks), a
sardonic Russian-lit major who shows James how each game is rigged; Em (Kristen
Stewart, Twilight), a cool girl who saves
James from getting stabbed at a ring toss game; Lisa P. (Margarita Levieva), a
gal who spends most of her time dancing to the music played over the park's
loudspeakers; and Connell (Ryan Reynolds, The
Proposal), a maintenance guy who perpetuates a legend about the time he
jammed with Lou Reed. This motley crew is led by Bobby and Paulette (Bill Hader
and Kristen Wiig, SNL), a managerial couple whose style includes baseball
bats, strict prize control, and laissez-faire corndog storage.

James quickly becomes entangled in the lives of all of these people, as he
tries to make the best of his deteriorating summer.

The Evidence

Adventureland is part workplace comedy and part coming-of-age memoir.
It's a chunk out of writer/director Greg Motolla's past; sure the names and
locations have been changed to protect the innocent, but the film remains a very
personal testament to that awkward post-college stage of life. The film was
marketed as a hysterical romp akin to Motolla's previous effort, Superbad, but it's far more dramatic and
melancholy than we're led to believe. In fact, they're not really similar at
all.

If the movie is close to anything, it's Freaks and Geeks, which
nicely blended comedy and drama about kids growing up in the 1980s (amidst a
sweet soundtrack). Here, the era of big hair, ridiculous clothes, and Ronald
Reagan is looked back on with a fond nostalgia, not as a joke. Motolla is subtle
in his use of the era, letting his excellent soundtrack and the costumes do much
of the talking. Em's Lou Reed t-shirts, Lisa P.'s outrageous dance club outfits,
and the leftover 1970s cars all add up to a convincing period piece.

The park itself, played dutifully by Pittsburgh's historic Kennywood
amusement park, is introduced and then fades into the background. It has plenty
of cool moments and establishing shots, but Motolla mainly uses it to create a
solid atmosphere; the din of rollercoasters and the out-of-focus carnival lights
become a motif of the unchanging world that these characters are stuck in.

While all of the characters have their little moments in the film, the focus
sticks with James and Em. Their relationship isn't typically Hollywood, or
typically indie, it just feels realistic. While the third act of the film gets a
little bit heavy-handed at times, the story has a great pace to it.
Adventureland may be more dramatic than you'd expect, but the humor
that's here is sharp, natural, and never out of place. The inclusion of two SNL
vets, who steal every scene they're in, was a great move to keep things from
ever getting too lugubrious.

James's character, for all he deals with in the film, could have easily
become annoying in the hands of a lesser actor; however, Jesse Eisenberg does a
wonderful job in making him both likable and sympathetic to the point of
becoming an underdog. His attraction to Em is as odd as it is familiar; he's
probably too good for her, but at the same time she's just what he needs.
Kristen Stewart (who I haven't really seen since Panic Room, although I hear she's is some
vampire movie nowadays) does a solid job as Em, a girl trapped in a pathetic
affair with Connell, the maintenance guy. The chemistry between Em and James is
great, and even when they screw up I couldn't help but root for them.

That seems to be the case with much of the supporting cast as well. For as
vile and pathetic as Reynolds's Connell is, like when he seduces Em in his sick
mother's basement, you can't help but feel sorry for the guy. He's trapped, like
everyone else in Adventureland: Joel is trapped in a world that he's too smart
and pessimistic for. Frigo is trapped in a state of stunted adolescence.
Paulette and Bobby are trapped in an endless cycle of amusement park management,
gluing eyes to plush bananas and yelling at litter bugs. But for as messed up as
every character is, they each have a moment to make us laugh and a moment to
appeal to us on a human level.

The film was made on a shoestring budget, but Motolla does an excellent job
of making it look good. His direction and camera work are simple and
naturalistic, and the grainy, orangish hue of the picture gives it a retro feel.
The video quality on the DVD isn't the best around, but the '80s time period
hides many mistakes. The sound, on the other hand, rocks, largely because of the
director's meticulous soundtrack. Songs by The Replacements, Lou Reed, and Judas
Priest dot the film, along with a great original theme by Yo La Tengo. Perhaps
the most inspired aspect of the soundtrack is Falco's "Rock Me
Amadeus," which plays in Adventureland like 20 times a day.

This single-disc version of the film comes with a handful of extra features.
The commentary track with Greg Motolla and Jesse Eisenberg is by far one of the
most entertaining commentaries I've heard in a while. You learn a little about
the film, but the bulk of it is just wry banter and lies. There are also three
brief deleted scenes with optional commentary and a standard making-of
featurette. What's strange is Miramax's insistence on reminding you that these
bonus features are unrated, yet there isn't anything overtly outrageous
on them. Chalk another one up for hyped-up marketing for the Superbad
crowd.

The Rebuttal Witnesses

Adventureland may be a well crafted coming-of-age movie, but it isn't
without its flaws. For me, the film was generally satisfying from a comedic
standpoint, but just barely. The problem is that while the jokes flow naturally
as the film carries on, the third act switches gears to full-on drama as
relationships begin to break down and truths are discovered. One of the only
bright spots in this depressing act is a minor character's Jack Black-style a
cappella version of Rush's "Limelight." The film's final scene—I
add, sans spoiler—also comes too abruptly for my tastes. For a movie that
has grounded itself in realism for much of its runtime, the neat and tidy
conclusion feels tacked on.

Closing Statement

Much like Kennywood's (I mean, Adventureland's) wooden roller
coasters, this film is a bumpy yet enjoyable ride. The film's naturalistic style
and humor won me over, and the great cast really made me care about all of these
very imperfect characters. Adventureland may have an unbalanced third act
and a convenient ending, but the ride is worth the price of admission.

Just because this film isn't the next Superbad doesn't mean you shouldn't
check it out.